Bear Creek Canyon Loop

Rode Bear Creek Canyon today with my middle son. Great ride imo. We rode from the parking lot at the top of Cheyenne Canyon, up Gold Camp, up Buckhorn, up 667 and down 667 and Bear Canyon. Then went on to Section 16 and Red Rocks.
I thought the loop with Buckhorn, 667, and Bear Canyon was fantastic. Great climb up Buckhorn and 667. Fast, playful descent down 667 and 666 (Bear Canyon). Lots of little jumps off rocks and roots, fun curves, short scree DH sections, creek crossings -- all tons of fun. There was some snow today in the canyon, but it was all very rideable. Last but not least, the entire loop is full of gorgeous scenery.

Don't let the other reviews scare you this is a great trail. A nice lengthy singletrack that you can get a lot of speed on. Sure there's gravel but it doesn't kill the ride at all in my opinion. To get there climb up buckhorn then up trail 667 for about 1.5 miles until you begin a descent. At the end of the descent you cross a bridge then make an immediate hard right. If you like Jack's you should check out this trail.

Deep gravel with a drainage path in the middle all the way to the top, Then Deep gravel loose rocks, sand traps on the way down. Bring 6 inch wide tires at about 15psi and a bottom bracket with about 12 inches of clearance.

Deep Deep Gravel until your on the top of the hill. Going down is worse as your tires start swerving in the deep gravel. This whole area trail network has been beaten down by motocross bikes. If motocross bikes are not aloud then the trail is usually in pretty good shape. Good luck.

Great local singletrack. It can be a bit loose and gravelly in places.

Most folks will end up pushing their rides up part of the moto-eroded, gravel infested, steep climb. But boy is it worth it. A sweet singletrack descent brings you to the creek where the real fun begins. Fast, rocky, and seemingly never ending with some great views and occasionals scary exposure.

I just rode this trail again this past weekend. This trail is insane fast at the bottom! GREAT DH! There are several spots this year where the loose gravel is a little worse than last, but nothing too bad. The creek crossings are deeper than in previous years due to all of our rain, but all of them are still fun. This is a must do for local riders! If you are looking for a longer ride you can combine this trail with other nearby rides to make it as long as you would like. We tied it in with Palmer Trail and Section 16 for about a 10 mile trip. It was a really nice combo!

Great local area trail. It is definitely better than Cpt Jacks during the summer, but after the first snow it gets icy very fast. As described this is a great trail to catch a downhill "high" on at the end. I've also seen deer on this trail and Mtn Goats off in the distance while I was at the top. If you know where to look you can also see some falls from the top of the trail (Jacqueline falls?). I've taken a dozen people on this ride and they have all been extremely happy at the end.* Review edited 6/10/2007

Alright, I parked at the end of trail on high drive. The ride up high drive wasnt all to bad but up the trail was not the best. I had to walk in many sections due the the loose gravel and large rocks. The downhill is amazing though. There is also another was to access trail 666 without going on Captain Jack so much. You have to ride up the closed portion of Gold Camp for alittle until you hit the Jones Park trail. It's an easier climb that the Captain Jack's trail. Then when you get to trail 667 (Captain Jacks) you just cruize down to trail 666 and thats the fun downhill.

Killer climb for me. Parked at the section 16 TH and hit High Drive up and up to the Buckhorn/Jacks TH. Buckhorn to the fork, took a right (rather than going down Buckhorn. The trail then led to the Bear Creek Canyon. THe downhill was great, but a lot of surf and rock obstacles. Never really had to unclip. Fun ride. Worth the views. Down hill is better than Jacks, IMHO.

we parked at highdrive parking lot and headed and just follow high drive up and down till we came to the trail head. we started the climb it was not bad till we got up a wayus where it really got losse due to horse traffic so it turned into a hike a bike but not to bad. then we hooked up with jones down hill and followed that the rest of the way down. went past the top of the climb of the buck horn and just kept heading down over high drive again and down capt jack then we climbed gold camp rd back up to the parking lot. it was a good ride!! i reccomend it there are some great views and good climbs!!

This is one of the best single tracks in the colorado springs area. Its not extremely technical the whole way through, but there are some rocky spots. It leads you down through a beautiful canyon and takes you across a couple river crossings. It is also a good workout with how much climbing you end up doing.

After you park, you will cross the road and take the trail that has no marking. This trail will take you up a killer uphill for about a mile. keep going along this trail for about 2 miles total until you come to a T in the trail right after a river crossing. Take a right onto the trail marked 666 which will take you down through a sweet canyon for about 3 miles or so. The trail then empties out onto "high drive" again. Ride up "high drive" for about 2 miles or so until you get to the parking lot at the top.

I did this trail by starting where gold camp and high drive meet. Rode up seven bridges to jones park, then came down bear creek canyon trail, that was a pretty sweet and long downhill run, but getting back up to the car after all that is a pain. Theres so many different routes you can choose riding this area, which is why I enjoy it, keeps it interesting.* Review edited 2/26/2009

I wrote the original review but since then I've been introduced to an EVEN BETTER route (in my opinion of course). For this route, park at the Captain Jack's parking lot (at the intersection of gold camp and high drive, top of cheyenne canyon park). Ride out gold camp to the singletrack on the right (some call this Buckhorn trail) and climb to the 3 way intersection. Take a left here and continue to climb, then go down the bear creek canyon trail (as previously described). Once you're back at high drive, head back up the hill and over the top, back down to your car at the Captain Jack's parking area. This gives you a pretty good climb at the end but at least you don't have to ride the c***py eroded singletrack up from the top of high drive, plus you get to skip some steep road riding. Probably more climbing but definitely more enjoyable for me.

this is how i do this trail. start at (lower) high drive. ride up and over to the parking lot on the right. ride through the parking lot and take the next single track on the right. climb take next left near the top. climb some more. this trail gets rutty and rocky and rooty due to motorcycle traffic. stop at the top and enjoy the veiw. and the down hill is swwet. a little tuff in spots but flying throught the stream makes it all worth it. dumps you back out on to hight drive and nice cruise back to the car